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Robert Joffrey and Gerald Arpino founded the Joffrey Ballet in 1956. In the beginning, the troupe of six young dancers mainly traveled around the country performing on college campuses and in small towns. It soon developed a reputation for innovative choreography and performances that combined the best of classical ballet with modern dance. Arpino (1923–2008) contributed much of the original choreography, and Joffrey (1930–88) was an inspired teacher willing to take chances. Over almost six decades, the company suffered many creative and financial ups and downs and eventually relocated from New York to Chicago. This program makes use of extensive archival footage and interviews with former dancers, choreographers, and influential figures in the dance world. It features excerpts from such seminal company works as Astarte, Trinity, and Billboards, as well as important re-creations of historical pieces such as The Green Table, Parade, and Le Sacre de ­Printemps. Bonus items include a “making-of” featurette and scenes from Robert Altman’s 2003 film The Company, which featured Joffrey dancers and a full dress rehearsal of Kurt Jooss’s The Green Table. VERDICT This DVD is an essential purchase for dance collections and highly recommended for popular culture and arts shelves. Dance aficionados will love it.—Tom Budlong, Atlanta

In 1930, Detroit was the fastest growing city in the world. Today, it is the fastest shrinking city in the United States, with over 100,000 abandoned homes and vacant lots and a crippling financial situation. This sad fact appears in the early part of Ewing and Grady’s (Jesus Camp) film on the continuing decline of the Motor City. The directors view this through the eyes of three individuals: a young blogger who draws parallels between present problems and the city’s past; the president of a UAW local that faces cuts in member wages and benefits so GM may accept a federal government bailout; and the owner of a bar frequented by autoworkers who reflects on the city’s past, present, and future. Viewers also meet unemployed men who get by through salvaging scrap metal and young artists setting up studio space in the city center. Throughout, viewers see a proud city now down on its luck, with its citizens attempting to build a future. The documentary is available in a feature length and in a shorter version intended for classroom use. VERDICT Highly recommended for all viewers. [Short-listed for the 2013 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.—Ed.]—Stephen L. Hupp, West Virginia Univ. Parkersburg Lib.

Abounding with life—human and avian—this splendid DVD takes viewers on a tour through the four seasons of America’s most celebrated city park. There are interviews with 14 featured individuals, for example, writers Jonathan Franzen, Marie Winn, and Jonathan Rosen. The cinematography by Kimball (Top Gun; Mission Impossible 2)showcases over 120 bird species, including 22 warblers, singing, capturing prey, nesting, fighting, or just migrating through. Interspersed with the birds are scenes of city traffic and people jogging, boating, cycling, and otherwise enjoying the park, as well as breathtaking aerial views. Well over a square mile, Central Park is a rich oasis in a region where converging shorelines and geography combine to concentrate birds. Birders explain why they bird, how they do it, and their various goals, from simple relaxation to serious science. Tasteful, with unobtrusive, appropriate music, Birders could be marginally improved with subtitles identifying the birds. The audio is of good quality, but there are also quiet segments where one just enjoys the scenery, birds, and people. VERDICT This excellent production should satisfy and intrigue those with an interest in cities and natural history, at any level.—Henry T. Armistead, formerly with Free Lib. of Philadelphia

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The following titles are reviewed in the March 15 print issue. Visit Book Verdict for the full reviews.

Now in her 45th year with Library Journal, Bette-Lee also edits LJ's Video Reviews column, six times a year Romance column, and e-original Romance reviews, which post weekly as LJ Xpress Reviews. She received the Romance Writers of America (RWA) Vivian Stephens Industry Award in 2013 for having "contributed to the genre or to RWA in a significant and/or continuing manner"